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How the Pandemic is Changing Consumer Behavior…

March 2, 2021 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

Over the last year, many of us have had conversations with our students about how the pandemic might permanently change consumer behavior. While the short-run changes (greater sales of Peloton bikes, more home projects – go Home Depot, and lower sales at restaurants and movie theaters, and of course no indoor concerts) are interesting, I think the fun stuff is thinking about which changes will stick. I like to use this topic as a way to get my students thinking. So I ask them, “Which pandemic changes in consumer behavior are likely to stick?” I often use this as a small group activity so they can chat with classmates.

After soliciting their ideas – and of course asking them “why?” I like to share with them what some of the so-called experts think. This article at McKinsey.com “The great consumer shift: Ten charts that show how US shopping behavior is changing” has lots of good stuff to share with your students — and here is another article. You can cut and paste some of the charts (data is good) into your PowerPoints and either confirm or supplement they ideas they come up with.

Filed Under: Chapter 05, Chapter 10, Chapter 13, Consumer behavior

How Can Supply Chains Reduce Climate Change (#M4BW)

February 26, 2021 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

As regular readers of this blog know, the recently published 17th edition of Essentials of Marketing includes several examples each chapter of companies, brands, or practices that demonstrate “Marketing for a Better World” (#M4BW). Marketing managers are not always looking to do the right thing for society — but many are finding ways to increase profits and make for a better world. This article “Supply Chains as a Game-Changer in the Fight Against Climate Change” (BCG, January 26, 2021) includes lots of practical advice you might share with your students.

Filed Under: #M4BW, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Place

Amazon’s advertising platform turns off customers…

February 20, 2020 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

It seems like we talk about Amazon a lot here at Teach the 4 Ps. For several reasons Amazon is a great class example. First, it is a brand that everyone knows and most of our students use on a regular basis. Second, they are at the leading edge of so many new marketing practices. Third, Amazon offers the opportunity for examples that reflect many marketing practices (and many chapters). Today, we are talking about Amazon the online retailer, as an advertising medium. After Google and Facebook, Amazon is growing fast as an advertiser. A Wall Street Journal article earlier this year pointed out that “54% of people looking for a product now begin their search directly on Amazon…” Search advertising has traditionally been Google’s sweet spot.

This article, “Ad Business a Boon for Amazon But a Turn-Off for Shoppers,” (November 26, 2019) points out that Amazon may need to be careful with all the advertising. Some customers are getting annoyed with the online retailer for serving up too many ads. Customers just want the product they are looking for–but they often have to search through many “sponsored posts” before they get there.

This article or example may be used in your marketing classroom in a number of ways. If Amazon wants to do well by customers, is this the right way? Is this customer-oriented behavior (Chapter 1)? An interesting counter-example might be drawn out by asking students if they have ever gone to Amazon looking for one thing, then seeing an ad for a competing product, and ended up buying the competing product. Was that information useful?

The question gets further muddled when the article also notes that ads like this might help Amazon deliver one-day service that customers love (Chapters 10 and 12). It also suggests changes in consumer behavior (Chapter 5). And then of course the article highlights how Amazon is becoming a new advertising medium (Chapter 15). Lots to potentially talk about here.

Filed Under: Advertising, Chapter 03, Chapter 05, Chapter 10, Chapter 12, Chapter 15, Competition, Consumer behavior

Some #M4BW examples for you…

December 3, 2019 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

As regular readers know, through this blog and the forthcoming 17th edition of Essentials of Marketing (publishing in February 2020) we have taken on the mission of highlighting organizations that are marketing for a better world (#M4BW).

Businesses are getting the message. McDonald’s has announced that it will soon buy all of its coffee from sources that meet international sustainability standards certified by Fair Trade and Rainforest Alliance. Consumers are concerned about plastic containers—we throw away lots of plastic. Recently, Unilever, Procter & Gamble (P&G), Nestlé, Häagen-Dazs and PepsiCo began testing reusable containers for their products. PepsiCo will use refillable glass bottles for its Tropicana orange juice, and P&G will use aluminum bottles for its Pantene shampoo and stainless steel containers for Tide detergent. Products will be delivered to customers’ homes with empty packaging returned, cleaned, and refilled. For more see “The World’s Biggest Brands Want You to Refill Your Orange Juice and Deodorant,” Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2019; “McDonald’s Transitions to Sustainably Sourced Coffee,” brandchannel, October 12, 2016; “Beyond Sustainable: The Growing Demand for Ethical Fashion,” The Robin Report, April 3, 2018. These examples can be used when you cover sustainability (Chapter 3), packaging (Chapter 8) and reverse channels (Chapter 10).

Filed Under: #M4BW, Chapter 03, Chapter 08, Chapter 10, Sustainability

Delivering convenience and high quality meat from a vending machine

October 10, 2019 by Joe Cannon Leave a Comment

Students don’t often think about how Place and choice of distribution channel can differentiate a product or deliver value (often through convenience). And not too many of us think about vending machines as a channel of distribution for much more than snacks and soft drinks. That is why this example, where the Applestone Meat Co. offers self-serve vending machines stocked with vacuum-sealed packages of meat, including everything you might expect to buy at a high-end butcher shop: Porterhouse steaks, rack of lamb, sausages, and ground beef. You can read more, and perhaps clip an image to drop into your slides when you cover Place in Chapters, 10, 11 and 12.

As an aside, if you, like me, didn’t get the “Horn & Hardart” reference in the article’s title, check out this Wikipedia entry and learn a little history.

Filed Under: Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Place

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